Brattleboro Climate Protection and the Brattleboro Solar Summer Subcommittee of the Brattleboro Energy Committee thank those who helped make the July 25 ice cream social in Pliny Park a successful event.
This most especially includes the suppliers of the ice cream (Janet Picard and Chelsea Royal Diner Ice Cream) and of the gelato (Peter Solley and Vermont Gelato). Peter was also kind enough to donate a bunch of wooden ice cream spoons.
We were regaled with some great music from the duo of John Ungerleider on guitar and vocals and young Ella Bogdanoff on vocals. The music included many songs relevant to renewable energy as well as a bonus Bob Dylan track.
Most of the area vendors participating in Brattleboro Solar Summer talked about their solar power and energy consulting offerings. This included solar installers Gary MacArthur Solar, Integrated Solar, Soveren Solar, and Sunnyside Solar as well as general energy consultant Tad Montgomery of Home Energy Advocates.
In the July 22 Commons, Tim Stevenson wrote a Viewpoint piece, “Brattleboro can provide leadership on climate change.” In fact, the town has been a leader on climate change for many years, and it continues to be a model for other cities and towns. In 2002, the town joined...
Solar isn't just for wealthy homeowners anymore. As a renter with a modest income, I can't install solar panels on my building, and don't have the money to make the up-front investment. So I'm planning to take out a low-interest loan through the new Windham County Solar Loan Program...
The carbon-pollution tax initiative launched recently, Energy Independent Vermont, makes sense for our state. Destructive weather like Tropical Storm Irene and “hundred-year” floods, which now come every couple of years, are becoming the new normal, and we can't afford to ignore this reality. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to tackle the source of this problem head on: pollution from fossil fuels. It is outrageous that fossil-fuel companies are allowed to dump pollution into our atmosphere for free,
I was one of the 2,000 Vermonters at the climate change march in New York on Sept. 21, joining people from across the country in calling for urgent action on this problem. If you were as inspired and energized by this march as I was, there is much that you can do here in Brattleboro and Windham County to continue the fight against global warming. The Brattleboro Energy Committee does terrific work promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative transportation,
The state low-income weatherization program has been a tremendous success story in Vermont. Our energy costs are among the highest in the nation, hitting low-income families the hardest. Homes that are weatherized see an average of 37 percent energy savings, allowing these families to have more money for other basic needs. For every dollar invested in energy savings, $2.51 is returned to the household and community. Despite its clear benefits, Governor Shumlin's budget proposes cutting $2 million from the program.
Vermonters have the chance this fall to join a national movement working to stop a 1,700-mile pipeline that threatens our nation's health and safety. The TransCanada corporation wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline from the province of Alberta - home of the world's second-largest reservoir of petroleum - through the heartland of the United States to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico. At first glance, this sounds like good news: a huge oil supply owned by a friendly neighbor.
In response to your recent editorial, I would like to inform the public about the many ways that Brattleboro's municipal government and business communities have been working over the past ten years to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability. In 2002, Brattleboro joined the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign, an international network of cities and towns working to reduce carbon emissions, sponsored by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. In 2003, the Selectboard approved a Climate Action Plan (available at www.brattleboro.org) that...